Effectiveness of the Back School and McKenzie techniques in the treatment of patients with chronic non-specific low back pain: a randomised controlled trial

• Grant number: 10/18399-9
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: May 01, 2011
• End date: April 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Leonardo Oliveira Pena Costa
• Grantee: Leonardo Oliveira Pena Costa
• Host Institution: Pró-Reitoria de Pós-Graduação, Pesquisa e Extensão. Universidade Cidade de São Paulo (UNICID). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Alessandra Narciso Garcia

Abstract

Chronic low back pain is a highly prevalent condition which is associated with high direct and indirect costs to the society worldwide. Although this condition is highly prevalent, it is still extremely difficult to treat. Two potentially useful treatments for patients with chronic low back pain are the treatment programs named McKenzie and Back School. These programs have good biological plausibility, are readily available and have a modest cost. Although these treatments are already available for patients; the evidence that support the use of these interventions is largely based upon low quality studies. Therefore a high quality randomised controlled trial is needed to compare, for the first time, the effectiveness of these techniques in patients with chronic low back pain. One hundred and forty eight patients will be randomly allocated to a four-week treatment program based upon the McKenzie or the Back School principles. Measures of outcomes (pain intensity, disability and trunk flexion range of motion) will be obtained at follow up appointments at 4 weeks, 3 and 6 months after randomisation. The data will be collected by a blinded assessor to the group allocation. This will be the first study aiming to compare the McKenzie and Back School techniques in patients with chronic low back pain. The results of this trial could help decision-making process of allied health providers for the treatment of chronic low back pain, as well as could help reducing the health-related costs for this condition. (AU)